Bags Up, and Hunters Happy says Fish & Game
10 May 2013

Press Release

Bags Up, and Hunters Happy says Fish & Game

This year’s opening weekend of the game bird season was the best since 2007, according to the findings of a recently completed telephone survey of over one hundred licenced game bird hunters in the Southland region.

Hunters were not only pleased with the condition of the birds, but also with the number harvested; the average bag of mallards for the weekend was 13.6 per hunter, and good bags of paradise shelduck and shovelor were also recorded.

“It’s been great hearing from guys who have had such a good start to their season, with most very happy with the opening weekend” says Zane Moss, operations manager for Southland Fish & Game.

Another pleasing statistic for Fish & Game is, the licence sales figures suggest that the region is on track for its greatest number of hunters ever, indicating the sport is gaining in popularity every year.

“It’s fantastic that more and more people are enjoying the sport, which really has become such an important event in Southland. Outside of Christmas it seems like the one annual event with enough appeal to draw people back to their family and friends from all over the country, with many flying back from overseas."

Fish & Game staff have also been called on to survey more wetlands as hunters strive to improve their spot for next year. Mr Moss added that “I’ve had several calls already from hunters wanting to either create a new pond or improve an existing pond for the next season”.

Fish & Game and police were generally happy with conduct of hunters over opening weekend, with 10 individuals facing prosecution for either hunting without a licence or the use of lead shot.

Fish & Game will continue with the telephone surveys fortnightly throughout the remainder of the game bird season and appreciate hunter cooperation, which helps ensure sustainable management of game bird resource.

Hunters are reminded that the mallard season runs through until July 28, 2013 and encourage all hunters to “get out and make the most of their game bird licence”.

ENDS

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